Passion Vs. Reason in the Works of Chaucer

Passion and Reason are at war in Chaucer's poems and in his life

Sep 25, 2009

Exploring the questions of life and love, reason and passion in two of Chaucer's poems, The Book of the Duchess and The Parliament of the Fowls.

In the fourteenth century, there was a strong belief in intimacy with nature. Geoffrey Chaucer often pondered the natural and unnatural in his poetry. The phrase, “lawe of kinde” appears in many of his poems. Also, there is a common theme of the importance of reason over the passions. Like many poets, his narrators and main characters are a reflection of himself and their thoughts mirror his own.

In The Book of the Duchess, the narrator is deeply troubled about life, death and love. Chaucer hyperbolizes romance and warns the readers its danger, while still suggesting its importance. It is apparent that Chaucer feels passion is the most important, as he projects a very comedic attitude towards the idea of reason mastering the passions.

Chaucer’s main purpose in The Parliament of Fowls is to project the absurdity in trying to make reason out of love. For example, the narrator begins by speaking about the shortness of life and “Al this I mene I by Love, that my felynge/ Astonyeth with his wonderful werkyng”(4-5). This narrator admires Love’s work and wants to learn everything.

Similarly to The book of the Duchess, He falls asleep while reading a book and dreams of the personified Nature choosing a mate for the female Eagle. After a huge debate among all the animals, Nature finally suggests that the eagle choose her own mate.

She continues to say “If I were Reasoun, than wolde I / Conseyle yow the royal tercel take” thus suggesting that if she were reason, instead of nature she would make a decision based on rational judgment. The irony is that when it comes to love it only makes sense to follow your heart.

Contrary to the playfulness in The Parliament of Fowls, Chaucer reveals a more serious attitude in The Book of the Duchess as he warns the readers of what happens when one succumbs to passion. However, the main point is that one lacks control over their emotions, which is why being in love is an illness.

The narrator has suffered a sleeping sickness for eight years and “there is no phisicien but oon/ that may me hele…” (39-40). Likewise, the knight he meets in a dream explains “And that myn herte was set owhner…I trowe hit cam me kyndely”(776-78). Ironically a knight is considered a strong superior in society so the message is that love affects everyone, naturally.

This situation echo’s a time when Anne of Bohemia was presented with her own “formel eagle” and had to choose a suitor. This situation provided an “occasion for a consideration of the contradictions, ambivalences, and uncertainties of human love, royal or not” (Benson, 384).

Chaucer is also criticizing the artificial and structured attitude people had towards love during this time. Socially, courtly love existed only among the aristocrats, who tend to be more serious and orderly, even today.

Louise O. Fradenburg suggests that “Especially in the form of pity, courtly love was a “sentement” that only the aristocracy could feel”. This is expressed in the “gentil tercelet” insulting remarks to the lower birds “Thy kynde is of so lowe a wrechednesse / That what love is, thow canst nouther seen ne gesse.”(601-2). Chaucer is attempting to relay the message that people should just be natural.

Fladenberg also suggests that “The Book of the Duchess was probably written for John of Gaunt (Chaucer’s patron) to memorialize the death (from plague, in September 1369) of his duchess, Blanche of Lancaster. It is generally regarded as an early poem, composed within months of Blanche’s death.

Overall, Passion wins. Chaucer reveals an opinion of an inevitable struggle over the questions of love that will never be solved. The Parliament of the Fowls leaves the reader without a conclusion, much like life. The poem ends with the Eagle deciding to delay her decision for a year, and although comedic, this holds a strong opinion about the choice to be true to ones feelings.

The personification of nature as the ultimate decision maker reveals Chaucer’s belief in the connection to nature. Overall this poem reflects the absurdity in trying to use reason in decisions that require only passion and connects to the uncertainties of customs and contradictions in Chaucer’s society at the time.

Perhaps, The Book of the Duchess, being one of Chaucer’s first poems, reflects his uncertainty and deep yearning for the questions of love, while his later poems reflect his maturity and light hearted feelings about it.

The copyright of the article Passion Vs. Reason in the Works of Chaucer in Poetry is owned by Lane Luft. Permission to republish Passion Vs. Reason in the Works of Chaucer in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.